SUMNER SPARTANS
BASKETBALL DEFENSIVE PHILOSOPHY
2010-2011 Season
CREATED BY: JAKE JACKSON
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Spartan Way 3 Sumner Spartans Defensive Philosophy 4 – 5 Defensive Identity & System 6 Spartan Defense Terminology & Concepts 7 Pack Line Man-to-Man Pressure Defense 8 – 10 Pack Line Defense Key Teaching Points 11 – 20 Defensive Philosophy Final Four 21 Ten Commandments of Team Defense 22 Effective Man-to-Man Defensive Drills 23– 41 See the Ball, Draw the Charge 23 2-on-1 Wall Ups 24 Weakside Blockouts 25 Zig Zag 26 Vegas Closeouts 27 2 vs. 1 Screening 28 4 Out Shell Positioning 29 3-out 1-in Shell Positioning 30 3-on-3 Screening 31 Blackhawk 32 Ballscreen Defense 33 Helpside to Ballside Closeouts 34 3 Around 1 Progression 35 Deflection Drill 36 50 Passes Drill 37 30 Second War Defense 38 Stops 39 Stop / Score / Stop 40 Baseball 41 References 42
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THE SPARTAN WAY
Defining the Identity of a Sumner Spartan Basketball Player
1. Embraces high standards both in the classroom and on the basketball court and competes for excellence.
2. Focuses on team goals more than individual goals and knows his role on our team, takes great pride in it, and executes.
3. Tells the truth and makes no excuses regardless of the circumstances.
4. Represents himself, his family, and the Sumner High School in a first place manner at all times.
5. Represents his teammates, cares about them, takes responsibility for their well being, and treats them as family.
6. Recognizes our identity as a team is that we are smart, tough minded, well conditioned, unselfish, and in all that we do our disposition is to “Attack”.
7. Believes that team defense wins championships and is totally committed to his own development in this area.
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SUMNER SPARTANS DEFENSIVE PHILOSOPHY
We take great pride in being an outstanding defensive team. We believe that this mentality is
necessary in order to accomplish our team goals. We are prepared to earn and prove this
everyday. Our defensive approach is based on the core belief that a “Team Defense” must be in
place to be effective. This approach relies heavily on three concepts- togetherness, physical
toughness and discipline.
Our defense does not give up easy points – “no easy buckets”. Off a made basket we sprint back
into our Pack Line pressure man-to-man defense – “10”. We understand the importance of
“controller”/“reader” and identify that this is the cornerstone to our defensive foundation. As we
pressure, we understand passers vision and disrupt a shooter’s rhythm. No straight-line drivers
are allowed, we level off all dribblers.
Off the ball we must have “Triangle Vision” of ball, you, man at all times. As an off the ball
defender, our responsibility is to support ball pressure with a “pack line” philosophy and defend
all screening actions with intensity and concentration.
We want to keep the ball out of the post at all times. A “Cardinal Sin” on defense is to allow a
direct pass into the post – this will not happen. If a post catch does occur, we will smother it
immediately with a trap, crowd, or attack it with perimeter defenders.
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SUMNER SPARTANS DEFENSIVE PHILOSOPHY
On dribble penetration, our positioning off the ball is our help. We eliminate the concept of help
and recover through this type of positioning. First and foremost, we stop the ball at all times. We
allow no layups; by taking charges or making hard plays on the ball. Our recovery to shooters is
executed by an aggressive close-out with high hands. Our help is both early and dependable. We
challenge every shot aggressively with no exceptions. If we see an open man, we guard him.
When a shot is taken, we block-out and pursue the ball relentlessly, not allowing second shots by
our opponents. We are a nasty, strong and determined defensive unit. We are also intelligently
aggressive; we do not give our opponents free-throws unless we need to. The goal of each
possession is simple: stop the ball and get the ball.
We play defense with our bodies, minds, and hearts. Our defensive disposition at Sumner
High School is to dominate. Our thirty-two minutes of basketball represents a team totally
committed to being fierce and relentless on every defensive possession- we take no plays off. We
recognize there are no shut outs in basketball. However, a team that competes against us will
earn every point they score.
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DEFENSIVE IDENTITY & SYSTEM
A. Our identity as a defensive team is defined as stopping the ball. In order to stop the ball,
we must pressure the ball, surround the ball by defending as a team at all times, and play
with a passion and energy on every defensive possession of the game. Defense is
extremely important in our program.
B. We are a man-to-man half court defensive team. Field goal percentage defense,
rebounding percentage, defensive three pt. field goals attempted + percentage, turnovers
forced, and personal fouls committed are the five biggest indicators of our success
defensively.
C. To compliment our half court man-to-man defense (“10”) we play zone (e.g., “12”, “13”,
“23” and “32”). These zone defenses we will show occasionally but depends on our
opponent and the game situation on how much. Clearly, we are a man-to-man defensive
program first.
D. We can extend our defense to full court (“Red X”) but this takes place off a steal or
turnover that leads to a score. However, as our depth grows we will continue to increase
our efficiency and frequency of our full court pressure. Forcing turnovers without
fouling unnecessarily is part of our defensive identity.
E. Our UOB and SOB defense is a “source of pride” within our program. We will look to
be creative and unconventional with our approach. This is done to make us harder to
prepare for and to also allow our attacking mentality to be in place defensively. We want
to create turnovers, timeouts used, and to take away points by our opponent in this area.
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TERMINOLOGY & CONCEPTS
Off steal or turnover that leads to a score we immediately pick up in our RED 42 and fall back into our 12. Off a made basket we sprint back into our 10 defense Off a missed shot we immediately sprint back into our 10 or 12 defense. We will alter defenses as the game progresses. 10 = ¼ court man-to-man… Pick up at our own 3-point line…No switches! 20 = ½ court man-to-man... Pick up at half court 30 = ¾ court man-to-man… Pick up at the opponents 3-point line 40 = Full court man-to-man… Pick up at opponents baseline Tag = ½ court defense, switching all screens. Do not switch without tagging off our original man.
12 = 1-2-2 Match-Up Zone 13 = 1-3-1 Zone 23 = 2-3 zone 32 = Triangle and 2 Spider = ¾ 1-3-1 defense with traps that can be made. We will only trap when quality opportunities come about.
42 = 1-2-2 full-court matchup zone RED = Trap the basketball from behind with “eyes” rule. RED 42 = 1-2-2 full-court matchup zone with “eyes” principle, fall back into 12 GOLD = Press with contain rules. Do not get beat middle. Nothing easy.
ICE = trap Black ICE = Baseline Traps Only White ICE = Wing Traps Only Thumbs Up = Trap the ball as soon as it crosses half court with nearest 2 using the “eyes” rule. We can use “thumbs-Up” an entire possession and trap a designated opponent every time he receives the ball and begins to dribble. Thumbs Down = Trap the ball as soon as it is passed past half court. This is a 1 trap and done.
On all missed shots we send 3 offensive players to the boards and send 2 defenders back to become the “controller” and “reader” CONTROLLER is responsible for finding the outlet and slowing the progression of the ball up the floor. The “controller” assumes a position just outside the 3 point line in the full court. READER is responsible for surveying the scene and taking the first pass up the floor that the “controller” is not able to defend. The “reader” assumes a position just outside the 3 point line in the half court.
SHAQ = Must Foul! We will call the jersey number of the individual we wish to foul
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PACK LINE PRESSURE MAN-TO MAN DEFENSE
We employ the PACK LINE pressure man-to-man defense at Sumner High School in order to compete in one of the state’s top conferences
By employing our theory of defensive play, we will lower our opponent’s field goal percentage, we will improve our rebounding, and we will reduce their opportunities for lay-ups and easy baskets whether off dribble penetration or in transition.
Our offense compliments our defense, although this is not completely necessary for our defense to be successful. We work very hard to get what we want offensively and not what the defense decides to gives us. Therefore, we are constantly exploring the defense in an effort to get the ball inside, to achieve a great shot, and or to get to the foul line. We want to make our opponent defend!
I think it is more important on the offensive end that you take great shots, whatever you do – take great shots. Conversely, I know that our defense will frustrate offenses into taking bad shots.
The five most important stats to Sumner Spartan Basketball are field-goal percentage defense, rebounding percentage, defensive 3-point field goals attempted + percentage, turnovers forced, and personal fouls committed. We want to force our opponent into tough contested shots, limit them to one shot, and we absolutely do not want to foul!
REBOUND – REBOUND – REBOUND: You must rebound to win! We emphasize rebounding in everything we do, everything! We will work on blocking-out every night in some form. We will drill our team 1-on-1, 2-on-2, 3-on-3, and 4-on-4, as well as emphasize this very important objective in our 5-on-5 play. Players will need to “CHIN THE BALL” on every single rebound (especially the posts).
Defense is outcome oriented. Ask yourself: Did we stop the ball. We teach this very important concept through our drills – our players must get stops, anything else is unacceptable (i.e., stop-score-stop)!
In the PACK LINE PRESSURE DEFENSE, you only have to recover because we line- up in help. It’s not the help that gets you beat; it’s the recovery or lack thereof. We work recovery, over and over and over again.
Our defense is zone oriented on the ball-side. The idea is to build a “WALL”, and to keep the ball out of the PACK AREA.
This is a Defensive System of Play that can only succeed when all five players work together as one, when they trust each other, and they allow the synergy of TEAM to take over.
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PACK LINE PRESSURE MAN-TO -MAN DEFENSE
Our first principle is to Stop the Ball, which means to stop all penetration to the lane - keep the ball out of the lane. This responsibility falls squarely upon the player defending the ball, alone. He must pressure the ball; defend his man in an aggressive manner, thus creating a level of discomfort for the ball handler. Our pressure must be significant enough to make it difficult for the offensive player to shoot, pass, or dribble the ball. Failure to do this gives the offensive player the advantage, as he can see the floor clearly and has time to anticipate the action on the floor. This is much like the quarterback in football that is allowed to drop back and pass at his leisure without any pressure from the defensive line or blitzing defensive backs. However, this pressure defensive attack can place the defender in a very vulnerable position, especially if the offensive player is quicker. Therefore, the strength of our defense is also based upon the level of confidence the defender “on the ball” has, in knowing that he will receive help from his teammates “off the ball” if his man gets past him; with others. This confidence in his teammates, in turn, allows him to concentrate entirely on our principle of Stopping the Ball! We simply cannot be effective in stopping the ball without this unity on defense.
We have a “Pack Line,” an imaginary line that is positioned 2 feet in front of the 3-point line. The only player outside of that line, that arc, is the player defending the ball. All other players are occupied inside the arc or the PACK AREA. In the diagram to the right, the purple shaded area is the PACK AREA. Therefore, we do not have a “Denial” mode, only focus on “Help” and “Recovery” mode to our defense. Our players are already positioned in help, a “Gap”. We are positioned in a slightly-closed stance, inside the Pack-Line, up- the-line but off the line, maintaining a Ball-You-Man relationship. However, when the ball is being passed to our man, we must “explode-out” of this position, and close-out to the ball.
A critical element of our execution defensively becomes our “Close-out” to the ball. We believe the most important key in our close-outs is to get “high-hands” and “active hands”. The close-out is NOT a run and jump…defensive player should never leave his feet to close-out. The close-out is a full speed sprint the first 2-3 steps, maintaining high hands, last couple steps are short choppy steps. We must break the shooters rhythm, we cannot allow the offense to catch and shoot. We must “close- out” hard and short – meaning we will not get blown away by the dribble. We want the offensive player effectively contained with no shot, no dribble – you want to RATTLE the offensive player!
There is a second extremely important element of our defense that is best described by the alone, with others symbolic terminology. That fundamental is the action of defending screens, whether on or off the ball. A screening situation consists of a cutter and a screener defender. The moment when the cutter breaks off the screener, the defender is completely alone. He has no responsibility at that moment other than to get through the screen. When we are being screened we are no longer a team defender. No matter how good a defender is, he simply cannot fight through a screen and worry about helping his teammates at the same time. Therefore, our cutter defender turns his full attention
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PACK LINE PRESSURE MAN-TO -MAN DEFENSE
solely to his man. But even then, verses a good offensive team he will momentarily become separated from his man. During this moment of separation, he must defend with others, receiving help from the screener defender. Our screener defender must jump momentarily into the path of the curter, staying within touching distance of his man, and take away his cut. The cutter then has only one option available to him, to move away from the basket. This is a critical element of our success in defending screens. Successful execution of this principle is difficult, but when done correctly separates good defensive teams from great defensive teams
TRUST
There are two intangible concepts that make the above execution possible. The player defending the screener must give total complete help to his teammate, thus allowing him to successfully get through the screen. Any hesitation on his part will cripple the effectiveness of the defense and give the offensive cutter the opportunity to catch and shoot a rhythm jump shot. At this moment, he must serve his teammate and stop the cutter. His priority of helping his teammate becomes greater than that of defending his own man. There is a component of trust which must be present when the two defenders properly execute this technique. Our screener defender jumps out to stop the cutter, but he cannot stay too long. He must return to his own man, the screener, before that player becomes a scoring threat himself. He trust that his teammate will get through the screen and recover to his own man, the cutter. Therefore, we actually leave the cutter open for a split second while both defenders return to their original players. At this point of transition, both the screener and the cutter are open, but for such a short period of time, that when coupled with our pressure on the ball, neither of them can take advantage of the opening.
This can only be executed successfully when both players work together and trust each other. The instant that one player fails to serve or trust his teammate while defending a screen, the timing of the maneuver breaks down and our defense becomes porous.
COMMUNICATION
For our team to be effective defensively we must talk, we must communicate! This is never more important than when defending a screener or when positioned in the “gap” off the ball. The best example of this is simply to compare a poor defensive player with a very good defender. A great defender communicates well with his teammates, while a poor defender rarely talks. The contrast is obvious, and the reason very efferent. The poor defender has a difficult time communicating because he does not have a sense of what is about to happen next. He lacks the ability to anticipate the movement of the offense. As a result, he is always one step behind and in a perpetual state of catch-up. This makes it impossible for him to have the presence of mind to communicate with his teammates. A player with this limitation may be a great 1-on-1 defender, but he will cripple a team defense. A great team defender has a feel for what the offense is about to do. He can anticipate the action, and thus communicate to his teammates what is going to happen next, before it actually happens. He is not always right, but he is rarely caught off guard by the offense. The most obvious physical characteristic of a great team defensive player, one who communicates well, is that he is rarely out of position to help his teammates. His awareness allows him to maintain a ball-you-man relationship that is the root of our defense. More importantly – he now has better “vision” of the offense and the ball.
CONSTANT REPOSITIONING
The rule of Ball-You-Man is constantly being broken, therefore constant repositioning off the ball is absolutely essential. We must constantly battle to reestablish our Ball-You-Man position. This is simply the “backbone” of our defense. Offenses do not stand stationary. Therefore, when the ball moves, or when
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PACK LINE DEFENSE KEY TEACHING POINTS
…CONSTANT REPOSITIONING
players move on the floor, the defense must continually adjust to the ever-changing environment. The reality in basketball is that the defender will constantly get knocked off track in the course of a defensive possession. That is why it is imperative that each player perpetually work to regain the correct defensive position. Failure to do so by any of the five defenders will create a breakdown in the team defense, and, moreover, a potentially good scoring opportunity for the offense. Essentially, getting “broken-down” on defense does not guarantee failure, but giving up at that point does!
EVERY WHEEL MUST HAVE A HUB
The hub of our defense is defending the low post. The most important decision that any coach has is how he will play the post. Our post defense keys everything else we do, it is the hub to our defense, and it dictates everything else. Great low post defense may be even more important than playing great defense on the ball. Although, these two key ingredients must work hand-in-hand. Furthermore, good post defense is more about toughness, determination, aggression, and a relentless effort than it is about technique.
There is no glamour in post defense, it is hard work, banging and pounding, and it is a relentless effort. It is something that cannot just be turned on and off, it must be present all the time, in practice and in the game. Our defense will only be as good as our post defenders!
Our basic method of defending the low post is to play ¾ front on the high side of the offensive post, with the ball on the top and the player positioned in the low post area. There will not be a feed from the top, this cannot and will not happen. As the ball approaches the side, we move into a three-quarter denial position (same position). We instruct our players to be aggressive, to be physical, but to show our hands, do not foul - and “see the ball”, we must have vision. We should be positioned in such a way as to have our top arm thrown across the post in a denial position, with our head in front of the post shoulder, but our lower leg and a portion of our body behind the post and thus, disallowing the lob pass.
We only allow a baseline pass that takes the post away from the lane. We tell our players this is our time, not the offenses time, but our time. We do not go for the steal or deflection, we immediately use “our time” to establish a position behind the post, “WALL UP”, take away the baseline dive, prepared to contest a shot, and to defend a drive.
If the offensive low post attempts to move us up the lane, we must know our slip point - in other words, when to move under the post and stay between him and the basket. We absolutely cannot give-up an angle to the basket or an easy lob; we must force the post to play through us, and not over or around us.
When the ball enters the low post, it is a disaster! We have to do everything we can to get the ball out of there. We have two methods in which to achieve this objective. We can “Choke” the post with a perimeter player or players, in order to force the ball to be passed out of the post, or we can “red the post”, double the post big-to-big.
Conversion Defense (Transition D)
There are two critical areas in regards to being an effective defensive team that you as the coach must be accountable. The first is conversion defense and the second is defending the low-post.
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PACK LINE DEFENSE KEY TEACHING POINTS
…Conversion Defense (Transition D)
In our Conversion Defense we are not assigned a specific player necessarily, but rather, we are defending positions on the floor in order to stop the ball and our opponent’s transition offense.
Our conversion defense begins as the ball is being shot by our offense. We send two guards back on defense as the shot goes up – “Controller” and “Reader”. We feel that the benefit of having our guards back on defense to STOP THE BALL is of a far greater benefit than any advantage that may be derived by having one or both rebound the offensive glass.
We designate which guard is our “Controller” and which guard is the “Reader”. The “Controller” is responsible for finding the outlet and slowing the progression of the ball up the floor. The “Controller” assumes a position just outside the 3-point line in the full court. The “Reader” is responsible for surveying the scene and taking the first pass up the floor that the “Controller” is not able to defend. The “Reader” assumes a position just outside the 3-point line in the half court.
The remaining three players sprint back to the paint as soon as our opponent gains possession of the ball. We teach their first three sprint steps to be with total disregard to vision; turn and sprint three steps, and then locate the ball as they continue to the lane. We will position toward the ball- side as deep as the ball. We cannot express enough the emphasis that we place upon our team of not giving-up transition baskets, NO LAY-UPS!
Pressure on the Ball
We must place pressure on the basketball; we cannot allow the ball handler to play comfortably, to easily look over the court. Offenses today will pick your defense apart if you allow them to do what they want to do with the ball. A great myth of the Pack Line defense is that “we do not pressure the ball; we are only concerned about containment.” No, we must contain and our players must know their limitations, but we must pressure the ball.
It is much like the football quarterback; the passer that has all the time needed to drop back and throw the ball, any NFL quarterback will pick apart a defense that does not pressure – the same holds true with our game. With this being said, we cannot allow the ball to get into the PACK AREA. Our point of pick-up is at half court, in the play area it is determined by whom you are guarding – your game and his game.
As much as we want and demand pressure on the ball, we must also understand a very important axiom of our defensive game planning; “Sometimes to not guard, is to guard”. In other words, there are players that you are better served to not defend, and therefore, utilize this defender as a helper.
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PACK LINE DEFENSE KEY TEACHING POINTS
…Pressure on the Ball
We do not force the ball in a specific direction. We simply tell our players “DO NOT GIVE-UP THE BASELINE”. We do not want them to feel that it is OK to force the ball to the middle, we just cannot get beat baseline. We will emphasize that our players must have their baseline foot positioned outside of the offensive player’s baseline foot. In the diagram to the right, X2 overplays to prevent the ball from being dribbled baseline. If O2 dribbles into the top gap, X1 will help stop the seam. As the ball is passed out to O1, X1 closes-out with high hands.
We will drill a lot of 1-on-1 in order for our players to learn their limitations, to understand how to keep the ball out of the PACK AREA, and to learn how to force contested jump shots.
Footwork is of paramount importance in our pressuring the ball, we want to Step (point our toe) in the direction that the ball is being dribbled, and Push with our opposite foot. We use the term, “Guarding a Yard” with our players, if we can execute two quick slides, we can arc and defend the ball. Use quick, short, steps without bringing our feet any closer than 12 inches, there is an imaginary ruler between our heels, no Heel Clicking.
If we can force a Dribble-Used situation, we now leave the PACK AREA with all of our defenders, in an effort to all-out deny all four offensive players. This is a great opportunity for us to create a panicked, and hopefully a turnover situation for the offense. The player defending the ball must verbalize the dribble used situation by calling out “FIVE – FIVE – FIVE”.
Jumping to the Ball
We do not jump to the ball per say, our first move is to jump back into the PACK AREA and then move toward the ball to preserve our Ball-You-Man relationship. Therefore, the nature of this position places our defender closer to the ball than the man who passed it. We assume a flat triangle position, slightly open and inside the PACK AREA when our man does not have the ball and is one pass away.
Close-outs
Closing-out to the ball is the key to our recovery mode, sprint the first two to three steps, with the last couple being short, choppy, steps. We must accomplish two objectives in our closeout; first we must closeout “Hard & Short” with our weight back prepared to absorb the dribble (we will
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PACK LINE DEFENSE KEY TEACHI NG POINTS
…Close-outs
not get blown away by the dribble), and secondly, we must have High Hands. We teach our players to keep their hands high, with elbows bent, for a 1001 count. We must create the illusion that there is no shot to be had. We cannot allow the offense to have rhythm jump shots.
In the diagram to the right, the ball is passed to O3. O1 immediately drops back inside the pack line. X3 quickly closes-out and applies pressure on the ball (O3). Defenders should close-out with hands high in order to contest the outside shot, and then assume the usual defensive stance when the ball is put on the floor, or the initial shot is stopped. Yes, it is possible that the offensive player may attempt to dribble around the closing defender, but then we have the seams stopped with our other four defenders. Also, when closing out, this does not mean "flying" or leaping at the ball. The defender must keep his feet on the floor and contain the ball. Once the defender has closed- out on the ball, he/she maintains good pressure on the ball.
Wall Up
The basic technique is to keep your body “straight-up” without brining your hands/arms down. Walling Up keeps our posts out of foul trouble; it helps our rebounding, keeps our opponents off the free-throw line, and provides a mindset that builds the rest of our defense. Walling Up most often occurs in the paint when an opponent is trying to score.
We Wall Up in the post to force players to score over the top of us rather than around us
We Wall Up on the perimeter to take away vision of a shot or a pass
Hardest thing to teach is to keep feet moving and lower body moving to take up opponents space before they have terminated dribble or pivot
Gap Defense
All Non-Ball Defenders are located inside the Pack Line – This is the most critical part of our defense. We do not believe that our defenders can accomplish three things: they cannot Deny, Help, and Recover. Therefore, we have eliminated the denial, and we now focus entirely on the other two factors – Help and Recovery. Because our defenders in the Gap are already positioned
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PACK LINE DEFENSE KEY TEACHING POINTS
…Gap Defense
in Help, they are now quicker in their recovery to the ball – there is no negative movement, away from their recovery.
In the diagram below, X1 is pressuring the ball, while the remaining four defenders are inside the pack line. As O1 attempts to dribble-penetrate, the X2 defender slides in to help stop the dribble, but then immediately recovers to his own man O2, when the pass is dished back out to O2. In stopping the seams (gaps), the idea is that X2 will fake a trap on the ball just to stop the dribble, but instead of actually trapping, once the ball is stopped, will immediately recover to his man (assuming the pass goes there). Importantly, a gapping defender should always be able to see his own man and never turn his back to his man. Otherwise, his man could flare cut or back-cut uncontested.
We are constantly “Re-positioning” in the PACK AREA:
1) Position up the line, but off the line – slightly closed to the ball
2) Vision is of the utmost importance; we must see both man and ball
3) Do not help to take a charge, but rather with our near arm and leg, we do not want to become blind to our help, by losing sight of our man
4) Bluff help as much as possible, we cannot become sterile in our positioning
5) We must be active and energized in our gap – we are zoning the ball
Flash Post Defense
We are positioned in a flat triangle with our closest foot to the ball slightly forward; therefore we are in a denial position to begin and better equipped to take away the flash.
VISION is key, WE MUST SEE BOTH MAN and BALL!
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PACK LINE DEFENSE KEY TEACHING POINTS
…Flash Post Defense
Upon the offensive players flash cut, we intercept it with our forearm. We teach our defender to use his forearm, to bump or force the offense away from the lane without extending the forearm, which would be a foul, in order to deny. It is a reality that our defender will momentarily lose sight of the ball, this occurs whenever we are defending a cutter, weather a screen is involved or not.
Defending the Low Post
You must have a very clear and concise philosophy of defending the low post. How you defend this area dictates everything else you do defensively.
There are only two areas to be defended; the low post and the perimeter. Everything that occurs in our Post Box (Approximately two steps off the lane and below the first hash mark on the lane) is considered the low post, everything else is the perimeter.
We ¾ Deny on the High Side of the Post, we tell our players to “Smother” the Low Post. Activity is our biggest key, WE MUST BE ACTIVE!
We can play ¾ high because we allow no baseline penetration. This also places us in a better position to take away the “High-Low” entry into the low post.
We must know our slip-point in the low post; it can vary from player to player, depending upon size, length, and quickness. Anytime the ball is on the side and the offense tries to move us up the lane, upon approaching the mid-lane area we must slip behind to the baseline side to avoid being pinned high.
Anytime a player steps away from the post, we then treat him as a perimeter player and deny inside the PACK AREA.
There can never be a feed to the low post from the top, no exceptions!
On a catch, we tell our post that this is our time, not the offensive player’s time, but our time. We must quickly slide behind the post on “air-time” – do not reach or gamble for a steal, but work to immediately position ourselves slightly to the baseline side with a half-step of cushion between our defender and the offensive player, maintaining a position between the post and the basket.
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PACK LINE DEFENSE KEY TEACHING POINTS
…Defending the Low Post
From our position behind the low post, we will defend the ball in one of three ways:
1) Plays the post 1-on-1 from behind – do not give up a scoring angle forcing the offensive player to score over our defender. Our post defender must keep his hands at shoulder height with his fingers pointed upward – “WALL UP”. We teach our post to employ a one step cut- off in this area, using his chest to level off the dribble, take the hit and force the tough shot.
2) Choke the Post – our perimeter players located on the ball-side will open to the ball as it is passed and give help to the post defender. We can dive in and out to bother the post and choke the post only if he puts the ball on the floor, or we can full-out choke the post, immediately diving to the ball and digging it out, forcing him to throw the ball out to the perimeter. Obviously, if our perimeter defender is defending a dead three or a great scorer, we may determine not to choke with his defender, but only to bluff help.
3) RED THE POST – Double the post big-to-big. This is probably our most often utilized method of defending the post, and our most effective. It is a way in which we can force the ball back out of the scoring area, while creating turnovers.
RED in the Post
We employ our Red if we cannot handle a player 1-on-1. Everyone, because of the Pack Line defense, is within one giant step of the low post. Therefore, it becomes much easier to double big- to-big, than if we were a denial defense.
The passer must absolutely deny the pass back out, this pass cannot occur!
The remaining two perimeter players sprint to occupy two areas, the Rim and the X-out positions. The Rim defender must not allow anyone to cut between him and the basket – he becomes the sole protector of the rim. The X-out defender is positioned just inside the free throw line, opened to the ball. Again, vision and communication are absolute essentials. On a pass out of the low post, our X-out defender takes the initial pass and closes out to this player, our Rim defender has the next pass. Our perimeters will give support help until our Big arrives from doubling the post.
The defender on the low post will create a cushion and move slightly to the baseline side on the pass, to allow the double and to take away a baseline spin move.
The double must be on the pass, we move on “air-time”. The trap must be toe-to-toe – shoulder to shoulder. We want to take away the cross-court pass to the open man with the position of our trap from the double. “Close the Door” with our trap, do not allow the offensive post to look over the floor, be aggressive, but aggressive without fouling.
We want to be as high as we can be with our hands in the trap. We want to avoid at all cost the temptation of reaching for the ball, keep those hands-up! Hands down will create the path for the pass out, hands down will increase our opportunity to foul.
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PACK LINE DEFENSE KEY TEACHING POINTS
…RED in the Post
On a “Release Dribble”, we will leave the ball and immediately look to recover back to our assigned man. We could adjust, and stay with the offensive post on the Release Dribble, but our basic rule is to immediately leave on the Release Dribble.
Recovery is on “air-time”. We will support perimeter to post, and we want our post to recover to their assigned man as quickly and efficiently as possible. We will allow a switch by the perimeter out of necessity.
Help-side Rules
Help-side Positioning:
1) Ball located above the free throw line extended: Both feet are positioned outside of the lane, in a closed position – maintaining our “Ball – You – Man” relationship.
2) Ball located at or below the free throw line extended: One foot in the paint and therefore straddling the lane line, and again with a closed stance – maintaining our “Ball – You – Man” positioning.
We can do this because we do not give-up baseline penetration and we do not front the post as a rule. We have placed our help-side defenders closer to their men to closeout and to avoid becoming screen bait. We are in a closed stance to better enable our defenders to deny the flash post or to defeat a screening situation. Because we allow reversal, we must be in this position. Obviously this could change according to whom we are guarding, vs. a great shooter we would have both feet outside the lane with the ball below the free throw line extended, vs. a great driver we would do the same most likely, however vs. a great post and a non-shooter we may position this defender with both feet in the lane.
DEFEATING SCREENS
Off the Ball
We do not switch screens, only in special situations or scouting report situations do we switch. Not switching makes our defense tougher!
Play all off the ball screens the same. We strive to keep everything we do within our defense as simple as possible. We will spend an inordinate amount of time defending off the ball screens. We spend more time on this than most programs spend on their O/B plays, lay-ups, and shooting combined.
We teach technique first, and then we allow them to play. Our favorite drill to teach this skill is 4/4 with a release. Thus, allowing the offense to screen as much as possible, in as many ways as possible, and as many combinations as possible.
The Cutter defender: As soon as you know you will be screened, move to your man, getting as close as possible. Once our defender becomes a cutter defender, for this short time, he no longer has help responsibility and thus will lose vision of the ball for just a moment. We must aggressively follow the cutter into our proper defensive position – we want to be as physical as
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PACK LINE DEFENSE KEY TEACHING POINTS
…DEFEATING SCREENS
Off the Ball
our size and strength will allow us to be. Obviously, if through scouting or playing the game, we can anticipate the offensive players cut, by all means do so.
Screener Defender: We teach our screener defender to jump to the ball and create space between himself and the screener. He must help where necessary in the direction of the cutters action, but while staying within touching distance of his man. We give the screener defender a degree of freedom to help with the cutter.
There are exceptions to the above rules. We want our players to play; we are not as rule oriented per-say as you might think. We want our players to conceptualize what our overall objective is and then play accordingly. We simply do not get caught up as much with this foot must be here, etc. as you must PLAY and Get Stops!
Examples of Defending Specific Screens:
Flare Screen: Chase over the screen and loosen-up with the screener defender to protect the basket. This takes away the pop and rhythm shot by the cutter.
Back Screen: We jump to the ball and back inside the Pack Line; therefore, placing our cutter defender on top of the screener’s hip. Here we are in a position to take away the cut to the basket, a cut to the ball, or the pop-out cut. The screener defender gets lower than the screen, protects the basket and closes out to his man as quickly as possible.
Cross Screen: The cutter defender immediately moves to the cutter to take away the high cut, the screener defender opens to the ball, lower than the screen to protect the basket and provide baseline help if necessary. We utilize a “V” move here to move over top of the screen and recover back into the cutters path.
DEFEATING SCREENS
Screen on the Ball
Hard Show: The screener defender gets in the dribblers path and has his “shoulders facing the ball”, while the defender on the ball gets over top of the screen and under the screener defender. The screener defender must force the ball handler to pick-up the dribble, go around the high side, or take a charge. We must help the helper with our other post defender, Big supports Big. We use this method of defending the ball screen vs. a great ball handler that can create and score with the jumper behind the screen.
Soft Show: The screener defender positions himself in the lower plane of the screener with his shoulders tilted toward half court, two steps away from the screen (we are in a better position to recover to the screener popping), his job is to force the ball to dribble out and around, thus giving our ball defender ample opportunity to recover. He absolutely cannot allow a dribble around or pull-up jump shot. The ball defender goes over both the screen and the screener defender, over taking and recovering to the ball. We employ this method of defending the ball screen with a
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PACK LINE DEFENSE KEY TEACHING POINTS
…DEFEATING SCREENS
Screen on the Ball
great ball-handler that is creative with the dribble, can shoot the pull-up, and the screener can pop and shoot it.
Slide: The screener defender positions him “2 x 2”; two steps under the screen and two steps away from screen, allowing the ball defender to slide under the screener and over our screener defender. We defend the ball screen in this manner when it occurs outside of the scoring area, or the ball handler is not a threat to score.
Flat: The screener defender pushes up into screener while the on ball defender goes under both. We use this vs. a screener that can shoot-it, or a great screen and role guy.
Defending Specific Screening Movements:
Double Staggered or Side by Side Screens: Defend with screener defender closest to ball extending into passing lane, screener defender furthest away is the zone man, and cutter defender chases hard!
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DEFENSIVE PHILOSOPHY’S FINAL 4
1. Convert with speed with “controller”/ “reader” responsibilities and
establish proper ball pressure – STOP THE BALL.
2. Work to keep vision on ball, you, man and balance pack line
positioning with the defending of screening actions.
3. Keep the ball out of the post and help early on dribble penetration –
do not forget to WALL UP.
4. Close-out, challenge the shot and block-out. Gang rebound to prevent
a second shot.
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10 COMMANDMENTS OF TEAM DEFENSE
1. The defense dictates to the offense … Defense is an action not a reaction!
2. We must communicate with our teammates at all times … Orally and
physically!
3. We stop penetration as a team and challenge all shots … only great teams
do both!
4. Any open man with the ball is more important than your man without it.
5. You can never talk too early or too often!
6. Hustle, communication, closing-out, blocking-out and taking a charge are
a matter of heart and desire.
7. We will only accept aggressive mistakes!
8. Play as hard as you can for as long as you can!
9. NO EASY BUCKETS!
10. Defense creates offense and wins CHAMPIONSHIPS!
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EFFECTIVE MAN DEFENSE DRILLS – ½ COURT
SEE THE BALL, DRAW THE CHARGE
Player defends on the ball in the wing area of the court. A
skip pass is thrown, the defender reacts, “Sees the ball and his
man” and positions himself to “Draw the charge” on a baseline
drive by the other offensive player (coaches are the offensive
players). Repeat several times.
Teaching Points:
“Sell” the charge No flopping
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EFFECTIVE MAN DEFENSE DRILLS – ½ COURT
2-ON-1 WALL UPS
Three players are involved in this drill. Two offensive players are
on a block opposite each other. One defensive player stands between
them facing a coach at the foul line who has the ball. The coach passes
the ball to an offensive player and the defender “WALLS UP”
aggressively. The offensive player then passes the ball back to the
coach. The coach continues to pass the ball to each block as defender
“WALLS UP” on each catch. The defender moves his feet with arms
extended (“high hands”) staying attached to the offensive player. Don’t
foul. Repeat several times.
Teaching Points:
Keep your body “straight up” without bringing your hands/arms down Keep feet moving – “Choppy Feet” Lower body always moving – chest, torso, thighs for contact shield against offensive player “WALL UP” does not mean to jump in air “WALL UP” in the post to force players to score over the top of us rather than around us “WALL UP” on the perimeter to take away vision of a shot or a pass
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EFFECTIVE MAN DEFENSE DRILLS – ½ COURT
WEAKSIDE BLOCKOUTS
A defensive player is either attached to the offensive player on
the weakside block or is in the lane waiting on the offensive
player to crash the offensive glass from the perimeter. A shot is
taken by a coach on the opposite side of the floor. On the shot,
the defender blocks out the offensive player. The offensive
player can go dummy speed, 50%, 75%, or full speed depending
on the day and what the coach says. The defender must get
three defensive rebounds in a row to switch from D to O. The
terminology is “Hit, find, get” in securing the defensive
rebound.
Teaching Points:
Defensive player block-out – “hit, find, get” Rebounders must “chin the ball” – if not, rebound does not count
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EFFECTIVE MAN DEFENSE DRILLS – ½ COURT
ZIG ZAG
Players partner-up by position in groups of two – 6 to 8 groups
total. There will be 3-4 groups on each opposite ends of the baseline.
One defensive player and one offensive player per group. The offensive
player is dribbling a basketball while the defensive player is manning-
up. The goal is to make the defensive player “work” and pressure the
ball correctly.
Teaching Points:
2 trips “Run, don’t slide” Arms away from body Butt Down “Level off dribblers” Eyes on mid section (i.e., belly button) Finish through the baseline No heel clicking (there’s an imaginary ruler between heels)
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EFFECTIVE MAN DEFENSE DRILLS – ½ COURT
VEGAS CLOSE OUTS
There are two evenly distributed lines of players on the baseline.
There will be two coaches in the perimeter positions on 3-point line with
a basketball in each of their hands. One at a time, one defensive player
per line properly closes-out to the coach. The coach can dribble or shoot
– defensive player needs to practice a proper close-out and deny
baseline.
Teaching Points:
Run first, then short, choppy steps High hands, bent elbows, butt down, head back Yell shot, play drive Touching distance in stance Take shooter out of rhythm
5-12 repetitions at rotating spots
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EF FECTIVE MAN DEFENSE DRILLS – ½ COURT
2 VS 1 SCREENING
Each player defends a minimum of 2-3 times. The two
screeners move to different areas of the floor.
*Offensive player can’t curl and score
Teaching Points:
Play “Tag” with the cutter “Good players don’t get screened” No help responsibilities Arm bar in the “Box area” Chase all flares Shortcut screens below the blocks, and along the 3-point line
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EFFECTIVE MAN DEFENSE DRILLS – ½ COURT
4 OUT SHELL POSITIONING
Teaching Points
Make sure the shell is high and wide Heat up line Foot positioning in the forward spot Talk, chatter Closeout properly from gaps Jump to the ball and swipe Address baseline drive
Shell Progression:
Pass only Pass two dribbles Inside Cut Weak side interchange Inside cut, weak side interchange “Live” command
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EFFECTIVE MAN DEFENSE DRILLS – ½ COURT
3 OUT 1 IN SHELL POSITIONING
Teaching Points:
Make sure the shell is top, with two wings around low post player Heat up line Emphasize ball pressure to prevent post feed Don’t get beat to the outside in forward spot Talk, chatter Close out properly from gaps Jump to the ball and swipe Address baseline drive ¾ to behind in post No gut pass in post Stay attached when on the line, up the line Crowd properly. Ballside vs. top defenders On catch --- Pop back, wall-up, walk thru shooter
Shell Progression:
Pass only, then into post Pass, two dribbles, then into post Weak side interchange Pass, corner cut from top Post ball-screens and rolls
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EFFECTIVE MAN DEFENSE DRILLS – ½ COURT
3-ON-3 SCREENING
Teaching points:
“Defending a cutter, you have the cutter” “Defending a screener, you are a helper” “Defending the ball, you pressure and jump and swipe after a pass is made to establish the “3 On the ball” Concept.”
Screens to Cover:
Elbow screen away Flare screen and with rescreen Back screen
Repetitions guarding the screener, cutter and passer.
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EFFECTIVE MAN DEFENSE DRILLS – ½ COURT
BLACKHAWK
Minimum of (3) close outs in a row. Post players can go
“Live” into the post, perimeter players can go “Live” on
perimeter with 2-3 dribbles or there can be no “Live” element to
the drill.
Teaching Points
Ball pressure, within touching distance Jump to the ball and “Swipe” High hands on closeouts with proper technique Don’t get beat through the elbows from the top of the key, “Walk thru shooter” in the post Finish with a rebound
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EFFECTIVE MAN DEFENSE DRILLS – ½ COURT
BALLSCREEN DEFENSE
Technique X Screener X Ball Handler JUMP Show #s to ball handler Over the ball screen and Hedge hard yet controlled under hedge.
X or stay command Don’t get beat to outside
Arms out or away from body Make ball handler use screen
Be tough on ball initially DROP, Drop below screen Over the screen Own the ball Vs. Flat- Get back in play “WEAK” “Weak” Force ball to one direction –
Return when “Go” to own “weak”
man “Go” command SWITCH “Switch” command Connect with X Screener Up to the ball Fight into gaps “HIT FISTS” Connect with X Ball handler Front post “Blue” TRAP Over the top, post defender Over the screen “stays” until pass is made Get back in play “ICE” out
*Defender guards progression of ball screens or the same ball screen in a row with the technique of the day.
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EFFECTIVE MAN DEFE NSE DRILLS – ½ COURT
HELPSIDE TO BALLSIDE CLOSEOUTS
Teaching Points:
Head on a “Swivel” when in help, proper closeout technique with high hands “You move as the ball moves”
Two in a row, rotate
Three Coaches at the two wing positions and up top,
players defend the coaches on the wings only.
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EFFECTIVE MAN DEFENSE DRILLS – ½ COURT
3 AROUND 1 PROGRESSION
Three unguarded perimeter coaches with a live 1-on-1 low
post battle of two players
Teaching Points:
Fouling negates hustle ¾ to behind On the post catch-pop back, wall up, walk thru shooter Block out No gut passes On the line, up the line Smack the cutter properly Deny high post flash or off the lane cut
Consecutive stops. Pass the ball sharply, with skip pass
and constant wing to top passing. We can emphasize technique
only with no “1-on-1” element or finish with competing.
(Coaches’ choice).
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EFFECTIVE MAN DEFENSE DRILLS – ½ COURT
DEFLECTION DRILL
There are three players per group – players organized by position of
play. Two players on offense, spread apart by approx. 10 feet with one
defensive player in the middle. There is 60 seconds on the clock – the
two offensive players are playing “keep-away from the defender”. The
defensive “man in the middle” is trying to get as many deflections as
possible – does not stop until 60 seconds is over. The defensive player
with the most deflections (after all three players go) – wins the drill and
does not have to do push-ups.
Teaching Points:
1. The two offensive passers cannot throw pass under defensive players’
legs or over the top of defensive players’ head
2. Passers are taking this drill seriously – need to emphasize pass fakes,
pivots and good bounce passes
3. This is a daily drill to emphasize strict ball pressure, communication and
active hands
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EFFECTIVE MAN DEFENSE DRILLS – ½ COURT
50 PASSES DRILL
Teaching Points:
1. 5 on 5 from ½ Court
2. 1 point on every completed pass
3. Only time you can dribble is to initiate the drill
4. Only time you can shoot is on a layup
5. 5 points for every made basket
6. Every turnover leads to change of possession
7. 1st team to 50 points wins the drill
8. Defense is told to over play, deny and pressure the ball
9. Offense must be strong with the ball, cut hard, back cut all over plays,
swing the ball through and square up to the basket on every catch
10. No fouls on the perimeter
11. Teaches spacing, cutting, being strong with the ball and reading the
defense
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EFFECTIVE MAN DEFENSE DRILLS – ½ COURT
30 SECOND WAR DEFENSE
The defense stays on defense until they run the clock from 00:30 to 00:00. The
clock begins when the offense initiates the ball with a pass or dribble. The
possession is played out. The clock remains at the time it is if the defense is able to
come up with a defensive stop. The offense then resets with the clock showing the
new time. The goal is to make the defense play perfect defense until the clock
reads 00:00. If at any point the offense scores, gets an offensive rebound, or an
uncontested shot, the clock is reset to 00:30. During the possession if the defense
deflects a pass or creates a turnover, 3 seconds are run off the remaining time. If
the defense takes a charge, 5 seconds are run off the remaining time. If the defense
is not communicating, reset the time to 00:30. This drill gets nasty, so 1-2 coaches
will need to be refereeing. We will try to complete this drill two times in 10
minutes.
The overall idea is to instill in your defense the importance to play great team
defense in repeated situations in the most adverse situations. This is one of those
drills that will show the coaching staff the toughness and emotion of Sumner
Spartan defense.
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EFFECTIVE MAN DEFENSE DRILLS – ½ COURT
STOPS
This drill is played in the ½ court – man defense versus man offense. Team will be
playing 5-on-5 with both the offense and defense playing “live”. The drill is done
½ court only.
The defense must get 5 stops in a row. A stop means possession of the ball or off a
turnover by the offense. The defense is only allowed one foul throughout this
entire progression. If a second foul is committed, the # of stops (if any) goes back
to zero and defense starts over.
After 5 stops are accomplished by the defense, the offense and defense switch. The
drill then begins again. Then each team has to get 4 stops in a row, then 3, 2, and 1.
Teaching Points:
1. Defense plays pack line pressure defense 2. Smart closeouts, denying baseline, forcing offense up court 3. Communication on defense is crucial 4. REBOUND! Offense and defense – “hit, find, get”
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EFFECTIVE MAN DEFENSE DRILLS – FULL COURT
STOP / SCORE / STOP
One of the best game situation drills we can implement and teach, very competitive and players love this drill. For a team to earn a point, they must successfully have a defensive stop, followed by an offensive score, and finish with another defensive stop. That 3-play sequence is the only way to earn one point. Any interruption in that sequence puts one team onto their sequence of a stop-score-stop.
For example: PURPLE starts on defense (the desired starting position) vs. WHITE. WHITE shoots but misses and PURPLE rebounds = STOP. With PURPLE on offense they execute s great back door cut for a made lay-up = SCORE. PURPLE is again on defense and has the opportunity to earn one point. PURPLE jumps into the passing lane and steals a pass = STOP… 1 Point for PURPLE.
Since PURPLE earned one point they get to start on defense again so that they can begin a sequence. This time WHITE executes a post feed and makes an easy bucket. This = nothing, but does put WHITE on their sequence of stop-score-stop if they come up with a stop. It is of GREAT benefit in this drill to have the players, a manager or a coach yelling out where the sequence is at all times.
This drill is great game situation teacher for shot selection, defensive rebounding, player recognition and INTENSITY~! Just wait until a team needs a big stop and someone gives up an offensive rebound! Or when you need a SCORE to keep a team from earning a point and the “wrong” person takes a poorly selected shot.
Fouls occur quickly so it is important to implement foul rules. A good rule would be if a team draws two fouls in the same sequence they are given a SCORE. Any offensive foul = STOP. All tie ball situations go to the defense. It’s up to the coaching staff if you want to play with boundaries.
This drill is best introduced as a ½ court 4-on-4 drill with two teams rotating players when a “sequence” is interrupted. From there you can progress to 3 teams and play on the full-court. Teaching points are: good shot selection, the value of the basketball, and competitive spirit in the drill.
GOAL: Eventually utilize the sequence “stop-score-stop” in an actual game!
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EFFECTIVE MAN DEFENSE DRILLS – ½ COURT
BASEBALL
Divide teams into two colors. We sometimes let our players DRAFT teams in keeping with the baseball theme. PURPLE team establishes a “batting order” and white matches up accordingly to how they want to defend. INNING 1: ONE-ON-ONE – PURPLE team is on offense, scoring as many points as possible until they get 3 OUTS (defensive stops by the WHITE team)…switch to WHITE team on offense. White plays until they get 3 outs…End of first inning. (To make this a long game you can run through this again and count as an additional inning). INNING 2: TWO-ON-TWO– For each inning, we vary the initial actions (ball screen, down screen, flare screen, etc.) Use whatever actions are part of your offense or maybe upcoming opponent’s offensive attack. INNING 3: THREE-ON-THREE – Again changing the initial actions. **Must come up rules for fouling (e.g., offensive team will get a point on a shooting foul).
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REFERENCES
Brett McDaniel – Sumner High School Boys Basketball, Head Coach . Spartan Defense Terminology & Concepts
Eric Ferris – “A Season With Coach Dick Bennett,” Author . Key Teaching Points for Pack Line Defense
Jim Boone – “Tusculum Basketball: Pack Line Defense,” Author . Key Teaching Points for Pack Line Defense . Pack Line Pressure Man-to-Man Defense
Kevin O’Neil – University of Southern California Men’s Basketball, Head Coach . 2007 -2008 Defensive Practice Drills
Lute Olson – University of Arizona Men’s Basketball, Retired Head Coach . 2005 -2007 Defensive Practice Drills . Ten Commandments of Team Defense
Sean Miller – University of Arizona Men’s Basketball, Head Coach . 2009 – 2010 Pack Line Defensive Philosophy . Defensive Identity & System . The Spartan Way . Defensive Philosophy Final Four . Key Teaching Points for Pack Line Defense . 2009 -2010 Defensive Drills
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